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Scammers Target Netflix Accounts

Netflix are warning customers to be Watchful after millions of users are targeted by scammers. The problem has become so bad the US government has issued an official warning about the highly convincing emails asking them to update their payment details, and a version of this scam is seeing users in the UK being also targeted.

Subscribers to the video streaming service have been warned that although the emails appear Persuasive , not to click on any of the internal links asking them to update their payment information. If users do click on the links, they are likely to have … Read more

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Friends Against Scams

A local community in Dudley is banding together and encouraging businesses and organisations to sign up to an anti-scam initiative. In the borough of Dudley an estimated £3.1 Million is lost each year to scammers, who explicitly target elderly and vulnerable people. Their details are circulated amongst fraudsters on what is known as a ‘Sucker List’, meaning some of these people are frequently targeted.

In an effort to tackle the problem, 1 year ago, Dudley’s Council Trading Standards department, launched a Scams Unit. They are now asking businesses, organisations, residents and voluntary services help to stop the scammers and protect … Read more

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This half term don’t get tricked into buying fraudulent flights

Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber reporting centre, is warning half term holiday makers to avoid fraudulent flight ticket sellers.

The reporting service has received 110 reports from victims whose total losses amount to £98,043. Action Fraud say victims are being enticed by offers of cheap flights and getaways this half term.

A new scam

Victims are being cold called by fraudsters claiming to work for travel companies. Action Fraud say the fraudsters are using new approach to gain the trust of victims. Intelligence suggests they appear to know that the victim has recently searched for flights online. This … Read more

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Multiple Lawsuits Against Marriott For Huge Data Breach

Marriott Hotels and Resorts has been hit with a huge class-action lawsuit over the data breach which saw 500 million customers affected, and that’s just the start. Under GDPR, the hospitality giant could face the world’s first significant fine under the new data protection act.

Despite Marriott being headquartered in the US, the breach falls under European wide GDPR rules, meaning the group now faces financial penalties of up to 4% of its annual global revenue. And in 2017 Marriott generated approximately 22.9 Billion US dollars in revenue last year. The news doesn’t get any better over in the US … Read more

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Timeshare still popular in the United States

Timeshare giant Wyndham Destinations has commissioned a survey, in an attempt to gauge the future prosperity of the timeshare industry in the US. According to the survey of 1,250 Americans, almost half believe they will spend more than $80,000 on holidays during their lifetime. More than half of the people surveyed said they had stayed in a timeshare and a massive 80% said they had enjoyed the experience. Amongst millennials, 55% said they had stayed in a timeshare and 73% of these had enjoyed their experience. remarkably, one in four liked it so much, they would consider purchasing a timeshare … Read more

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Couple who made fake sickness holiday claim convicted

A couple who made a fake sickness claim to Jet2holidays have been convicted of fraud and ordered to pay back almost £30,000. Martin and Linsey Brown, from Lancashire, submitted a false claim against Jet2holidays for gastric illness, after staying at a resort in Marmaris, Turkey. The couple claimed they suffered with stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea, arising from food poisoning. They claimed the whole family, including their children, were bed-bound, because of food served on their all-inclusive holiday. However, after being tipped off by another guest, hotel owners used CCTV to collect evidence, including the couple dancing at the … Read more

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Major Data Breach at Amazon

Just two days before Black Friday launched, Amazon has suffered a major data breach, which caused customer names and email addresses to be unveiled on its website. Amazon has emailed the customers affected, but has refused to say how many customers were affected. Amazon say this is not a breach of the website’s security or any of its systems, but a technical issue, that led to customers names and email addresses being posted.

Amazon said: “We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted.”

Customers who received an email were told: “Our website inadvertently disclosed … Read more

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Letting agency demanding money for simply viewing a property

The BBC programme Victoria Derbyshire has found that a letting agency has been demanding hundreds of pounds from prospective tenants to view properties for rent. The agency in question is Flintons in London and, so far, they have denied all these allegations, but these practices breach guidelines and could be illicit.

Despite denying the allegations, several of Flintons clients told the BBC programme they were told by estate agents that they would receive a refund if they did not want to take a tenancy agreement on the property they were viewing, but, when they did request refunds, were told the … Read more

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Timeshare Company Could Face Prosecution

A timeshare travel company based in Cape Town, could face prosecution for multiple charges, including duping customers into signing up for a membership.

Vacation Hub International, a membership based travel and lifestyle company, is being investigated by South Africa’s National Consumer Commission. The NCC is the primary regulator of consumer business in South Africa, and helps regulate business practices. After investigating the company, NCC referred the case to its prosecutors. They allege that the vacation company falsified themselves in order to trick people into signing up to their services. They used unfair tactics to prevent customers from cancelling their memberships … Read more

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Conman Jailed for £4.5 Million Fraud

A former financial advisor has been jailed for his involvement in a multi-million pound investment fraud. Neil Bartlett has been sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for scamming £4.5 million from victims, which he used to fund a lavish lifestyle of travel and gambling.

Police in Merseyside began to investigate Bartlett after receiving a number of complaints from Action Fraud, about his business practices. The scheme involved fooling victims into believing they were investing their pensions and life savings into investment accounts with interest. What he was actually doing was filtering the money through his company to pay himself this … Read more

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